Cyclists asking for trouble apt to find it

A cyclist travels south using a bike lane on Jarvis Street in Toronto.

PHOTO: Aaron Lynett, National Post

By Sandra Glendinning, Vancouver Sun

Originally published: February 14, 2012

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Recently, I assisted another police unit at a collision between a motorist and a cyclist where someone’s bad temper clearly had the upper hand. At first glance, one woman was crying and being comforted by another, the female cyclist was in a full-blown rage and witnesses were trying to keep their distance.

Within a few moments, the cyclist was in handcuffs and seated on the curb (which is what happens when you rage at a police officer who has come to investigate), the witnesses had been corralled, and the driver was identified as the woman trying to comfort the upset woman, who was a witness-turned-Good Samaritan.

The basic story was the cyclist had been riding on the sidewalk when she entered a crosswalk and collided with a car attempting to make a legal right hand turn on a red light. While considering the facts, it was information gleaned from the Good Samaritan and other witnesses that made it clear this collision was clearly not an accident, but an intentional act on the part of the cyclist.

Let me explain. The Good Samaritan was on the sidewalk and in a position to observe the motorist come to a stop at the red light, check the crosswalk and slowly proceed forward to make a right hand turn. The motorist stopped again, this time straddling the crosswalk, to check for traffic. This action did not impede the movement of pedestrians, as there was no one attempting to cross.

The Good Samaritan then observed the cyclist riding fast on the sidewalk towards the stopped car, whose driver was still facing the other direction. The cyclists appeared to increase her speed and instead of easily avoiding the stopped vehicle, rode smack into the side of it. The bike’s front tire snapped to the side and the cyclist hurled to the ground before popping back up and yelling at the driver for running her over.

The driver, who clearly had not seen the cyclist, was at a loss for words, and the cyclist continued to berate her, screaming that she was going to take her to court.

The Good Samaritan stepped in when the cyclist started slinging racial slurs. Instead of realizing she was crossing the line, the cyclist turned her rage on the Good Samaritan and physically attacked her by punching her and pulling her hair.

The Good Samaritan, whom I would classify as a gentle soul trying to do the right thing, backed away in an effort to disengage.

Police arrived a moment later. Even as I and another officer attempted to sort out what happened, the cyclist continued to scream and yell and kick up a fuss. She refused to listen to reason and was warned that if she ran at us again she would end up in handcuffs. Well, she didn’t listen.

It was the other witnesses who provided additional evidence that the ‘collision’ appeared to be an intentional act on the part of the cyclist. When the cyclist was calm enough to speak, she was presented with the suggestion of her riding into the car on purpose and was asked if this was a possibility.

Now, if I was the cyclist and had been legitimately involved in a collision, I would be very offended at the suggestion of me staging the ‘accident’. I would challenge it.

This cyclist, however, got very quiet and asked for the handcuffs to be removed, as she wanted to leave. She went from screaming and wanting the motorist to be sued to suddenly wanting to distance her-self from the situation, even more so when warned that she could be arrested for assaulting the Good Samaritan. The abrupt change in attitude was evidence enough to support the version of events provided by everyone but the cyclist.

In the end, the Good Samaritan did not want to press assault charges and the motorist gave her a ride home in her undamaged car as a gesture of thanks for stepping in. The only things damaged were the bicycle (warped front tire) and the cyclist’s idea of trying to stage an accident.

The cyclist got off with a ticket for riding on the sidewalk and for failing to wear a helmet. She should be thankful she was let go with a simple ticket, as she should have gone to jail.